OSWEGO – The proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary will be the subject of the next ‘History on Tap’ event on Wednesday, Aug. 4. Advisory Council Member Bill Crist will present the program at 7 p.m. at G.S. Steamer’s Restaurant, 70 E. First St., Oswego.

The event is free and open to the public. Attendees are invited to purchase refreshments and learn more about this exciting project in a friendly and scenic atmosphere overlooking the city of Oswego and the Oswego River. 

 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released its draft proposal to designate up to 1,786 square miles in eastern Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River as a National Marine Sanctuary.

Crist will discuss the project and the public meetings planned to gather input on it later in August. The proposal is posted at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/.

In 2017, Oswego, Cayuga, Jefferson and Wayne counties and the city of Oswego applied to have the area designated as a marine sanctuary based on the cultural and historical significance of the waters, which contain multiple shipwrecks and at least one submerged aircraft.

National marine sanctuaries are underwater areas that include archaeological sites, reefs, kelp forests and deep-sea canyons that are considered unique and special places. Similar to national parks on the land, marine sanctuaries serve to protect and conserve historically significant shipwrecks or unique environments, while promoting sustainable public use and access. The 15 national marine sanctuaries in the U.S. encompass a variety of marine environments such as Thunder Bay shipwrecks in Lake Huron, coral reefs off the Florida Keys and the Olympic Coast’s kelp forests in Washington State.

G.S. Steamer’s Restaurant is located at the Clarion Inn at 70 E. First St. at the end of NYS Rte. 481 in the city of Oswego. For more information about ‘History on Tap,’ contact Paul Lear at 315-343-4711 or paul.lear@parks.ny.gov. Updates and program information will be posted on the Friends of Fort Ontario Facebook page.